KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 — The Ministry of Health (MoH) today denied that the first case of monkeypox has been detected in Malaysia, after a three-year-old who was rumored to suffer from it turned out to be infected by the hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) instead.

Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham said the National Public Health Laboratory had taken two samples from the child, who developed symptoms including fever and rashes, to be tested for HFMD, monkeypox and other viruses.

"The test results confirmed this child’s case was HFMD because the results were positive for Coxsackie Virus A6, and negative for monkeypox as well as other viruses tested,” he said in a statement.

Yesterday, the ministry has confirmed that it has not received any notification regarding monkeypox infections in the country.

National news agency Bernama reported MoH was responding to a viral video of a kid that developed symptoms like fever and rashes.

The ministry also advised the public not to spread news that is unverified.

Last week, MoH reported that the country has recorded 31,661 cases of HFMD, which is 15 times the amount that was recorded in the same period last year.